Originally posted by PauloHDSousa:

Hi, I just bought this game and I'm looking for some competitive tips.

It's going to take a little while to get used to the game if you're just getting into it.

I was getting SMASHED when I initially started and was surprised because I’m typically pretty good at games in the FPS genre. I’ve been playing them peer-to-peer since DOOM on DWANGO in 1994. Man, did I run up a few phone bills with long-distance charges...

Old DWANGO Lobby Screenshot


Here’s a few things that helped me immediately.

This is probably the most beneficial knowledge you can have in this game. At this moment, you’ve got a total of 10 levels to learn; all of them except Nox Museum are symmetrical in nature; the other 9 maps have layouts that are almost mirrored to the opponents’ side (with a few very small differences in the areas around each team’s respective spawn point). You’re going to learn the levels as you play anyway, just try to note a few things:

Learn where you can jump across and save time or block with environmental barriers.

Reinstate has a few time saving jump points that can really help when playing Capture
Point (walking/jumping across fence tops instead of using the staircase).

Hollow is another map where a higher mobility player can jump across to the other side of the
map using the tank in the center or hugging the exit/entry walls for quick travel
between the enemy team’s initial upper-level exit tunnels.


Sunnsquare Mall, when playing King of the Hill (KOTH) or Capture Point, can have the player using the glass wall @ B Point/KOTH zone to block the incoming sniper fire from the enemy’s spawn, forcing them to COME TO YOU to fish you out of the objective.

The Mega packs are usually located in the center of the map when playing the TDM game mode and will be in the spawns if playing KOTH. If you know where you can go to get your health back to a safe level you should be able to stay in the game longer with a single life. This is very beneficial when playing KOTH or Capture Point game types where your presence on one of those points is either generating points for your team or acts to deter the other team from acquiring that point.

If you know that a certain platform, hallway, or exit point has high traffic you can get lucky with area denial weapons.

A Grenadier can get lucky lobbing a grenade from the KOTH floor to the area right outside of the enemy’s spawn point in the Hollow map, for instance. This information is extremely useful in FFA mode as you can almost always park yourself in a higher traffic area for increased exposure to the enemy (and potentially a higher score if you can keep the enemies clear).

The curved stairway rooms in Citadel (outside what would be A or C points in Capture Point) and the back halls at the edge of the map in Reinstate are usually high traffic areas in FFA.

Showing up on the enemy’s radar is a huge disadvantage to you as it alerts everyone in the immediate area of your location. The Wraith class does not appear on radar, but it doesn’t lend itself too well to close-in combat either unless you’re really good with it already. Know that the Marksman class has a perk that could potentially illuminate you no matter what precautions you take.

This was one of the hardest adjustments I’ve had to make since I was used to games where I was essentially sprinting everywhere. Sprinting, unless you are a Wraith, will give away your position on the radar. If the enemy knows you are coming, they can adjust to where they think you’ll appear and pre-fire before you even exit your hallway or come around the corner.

Suppressed weapons will mask your position on your enemy’s radar when firing. Sometimes those weapons may not fit your playstyle, but you need to be aware that the option exists. Weapons like the Berserker’s Supernova are amazing because they don’t give you away and they’re really good at dispatching enemies at close range on top of that (nice rate of fire and a perfect spread). If you blip on the radar, you may receive an opposition response shortly after your kill.

A high ping will hurt you. Some actions will take longer to register with a higher ping or may not match what the opponent is seeing on their end. Health pickups will not register as quickly, the Shadow’s melee range may not be accurately reflected on your client, and your shots (or damage to your character) may not immediately register. A higher ping will give you a shorter time to react and will put you at a disadvantage.

Are you into short, intermediate, or long range combat? Does the map and game type support that? Are you a better counter-sniper? Do you do well at close range or even melee range? Do you prefer intermediate ranged fights with higher accuracy weapons (Vanguard and Marksman come to mind) against those that use shotguns or a close range focus?

I'm personally partial to KOTH and Capture Point and usually find myself attempting to be aggressive in the goal-based gametypes. I think Tank suits my need to really get dirty and I care much more for the win than K:D ratio.

In Team Deathmatch (TDM), you may be playing a short range combat spec in something like Overhead and could potentially be picked off by a Wraith covering the map from a superior position.

If the game type is KOTH on that same map and you’re in the KOTH zone and out of his line of sight, THEY are the one not actively generating points for their team at that moment. The leaderboard is ranked by SCORE and you’ll get the full 2000 points by being the top scorer on the winning team in a consecutive match.

Game Types

There are currently six game types:

• Free For All (FFA) - Kill anyone you see.
  
• Team Deathmatch (TDM) - Aid your team in killing members of the opposing team.
  
• Capture Point - Keep as many points in your team's possession as possible.
  
• King of the Hill (KOTH) - Remain on the crown point as long as possible.
  
• Rounds - Essentially a TDM match with one life per round. Eliminate the other team fully to start a new round.
  
• Juggernaut - One person is designated the Juggernaut, you must kill that person to become the Juggernaut yourself. All other players are attempting to kill the Juggernaut.

Trying to hit someone at long range with the incorrect weapon doesn’t work well. Your weapon may have high falloff damage, severe reticle bloom when firing in automatic mode, or may be completely ineffective beyond a certain range (shotguns). If you’re using a shorter ranged weapon, try to make your engagements occur in the range that benefits your use of that weapon. If you're using a weapon that gives you the advantage at long range, attempt to keep that advantage.

Don't use a Chainsaw for long range because of accuracy degradation.
Don't use a shotgun for long range encounters due to the range limit.
Try to use something that packs a huge punch or has a high fire rate for close range encounters.

If you’re attempting to engage an enemy at a long range, sometimes “tap firing” your weapon (treating your weapon as if it was semi-automatic instead of fully automatic) will allow you a greater accuracy than a full auto hold-down of the trigger. Some weapons, like the Chainsaw, will be a hot, sloppy mess at long range as reticle bloom starts to make your shots increasingly wild.

Tight Spread


Sloppy Mess

You’ll hear shadows announce their position prematurely sometimes with their katana swings. A high mobility class can keep the distance gap open and kill them before they melee you to death, especially if they announce that they’re coming. Keep your sound up high enough to hear them.

You will eventually hear the cloaking and decloaking sounds, assume they're nearby!

I usually play as the Tank class, but the mobility stat is pretty low when wielding an LMG @ 79% mobility. I choose to use the Tank's Mammoth as my secondary weapon, @ 105% mobility, in order to travel quickly across the map or to a capture point or KOTH zone before swapping back to my primary. The side benefit is the fact that this particular pistol (much like the Grenadier's Rhino) is classified as a shotgun and it’s very destructive to the classes in the lower health pool tiers. One could pick a Blackhawk or the Sledge to achieve the same mobility if that fits their playstyle instead.



I believe the highest mobility score I've seen on any class was 119% with the right weapon/perk combination.

There are certain weapons that will offer a grenade launcher secondary mode (when “E” is pressed) that could be useful at the start of an engagement.

Secondary Grenade Launcher - The grenades can inflict direct damage, splash damage, or screen shake to the other player. Even a slight screen shake inflicted on your opponent can buy you a fraction of a second before they’re able to place accurate shots on you.



Secondary Shotgun - There is a shotgun secondary feature via the Vanguard's Coyote as well. I rarely use the Coyote if I’m playing Vanguard and would prefer an actual shotgun for that type of work, especially when using the auto-reload benefit from the “Barrage” perk. If you do decide to use the secondary shotgun, know that you can tap-swap to it while in the middle of a trigger-hold if you want to "blast cone" at close range.

Originally posted by PauloHDSousa:

ok, but how about class?

I can’t pick the class for you; that’s something that you’ll have to find out. I’m pretty bad with the Wraith myself and prefer to mix it up at close range or use high fire-rate weapons.

The Vanguard has a high health pool and can excel in both intermediate ranged engagements or become close range destroyers with shotguns.

Grenadiers can perform an area denial role and have a good health pool. The silenced SMGs can be nasty too.

Shadows can be a nightmare to enemy sniper positions or a team weak to rushing. They can achieve a very high mobility and easily run and gun when capturing points or flanking.

Marksmen have a great mix of both sniping, headshot damage, awareness, and survivability.

Originally posted by PauloHDSousa:

Which one is OP?

I’ve seen players using every class on the top spot of the leaderboard. The only thing I can give you would be a popularity list from an earlier thread.

Originally posted by PauloHDSousa:

How about weapons?

There are certain ones I see often, but I don’t have anything to back up the claims with respect to the best ones. I can give my favorites, but they could potentially be bottom tier in the opinions of others (especially my Wraith picks due to my poor sniping ability and my dislike of camping anywhere but in a KOTH zone, lol). You’ll unlock all perks and weapons at class level 18 and find the ones you really like to use.

Berserker – Supernova, Whirlwind, Thumper, and Maelstrom
Vanguard – Stalker, Strife, Jackhammer
Wraith – Firebrand, Persuader, Machete, Hydra
Shadow – Demon, Constrictor
Tank – Chainsaw, Prybar, Hornet, Mammoth
Grenadier – Oni, Serpent, Tormentor
Marksman – Bandit, Haunter, Intruder

I might do a straight copy of this as a guide, as suggested below. I didn't really intend to write one initially, lol.